A Timeless Procession

SKU: PR.14140086S

UPC: 680160618392. 9 x 12 inches. Text: Rosemary Thomas. Rosemary Thomas. Text by Rosemary Thomas.

Composed in 2004 for baritone Wolfgang Holzmair, Leisner's A Timeless Procession was premiered in 2011 with Thomas Meglioranza and the ENSO String Quartet at Symphony Space (New York City). Of that premiere, Art Leonard writes, The centerpiece of the program was the world premiere of Mr. Leisner's composition for baritone and string quartet, A Timeless Procession, setting a lengthy narrative poem by Rosemary Thomas about the parade of elephants past Carngie Hall when the circus came to town. This provided a nice balance of drama and humor... Of the music, itself, Leisner says, [Rosemary Thomas'] poem, The Elephants Pass Carnegie Hall, begins with an image, maybe real, maybe surreal, of circus elephants parading by Carnegie Hall, and ends with a sharp, mystical left turn into the prehistoric times of their ancestors. My piece views the poem through the lens of time - beginning with a primordial awakening, progressing into real time (the parade of elephants), and then through slow motion, frozen time, a return to real time (but with a surreal overlay of baritone falsetto), and finally, in the canonic last section, time past. For advanced performers.